Air conditioner indoor grille mounting

ABSTRACT

A grille for the indoor section of a room air conditioner has transversely extending latching structure formed on the inside of a pair of opposing walls. The transverse structures on one side thereof engage openings in the air conditioner indoor housing, which thereby receive and cooperate with the structure on one side of the grille. A flexible latch is provided on the indoor housing on the other side thereof to engage the transverse section on the inside wall of the other side of the grille. The flexible latch deforms to snap into engagement with the mating structure to attach the grille. Release of the latch to allow removal of the grille requires a tool to pass through an opening in the housing to deflect the latch to its unlatched position.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention is directed to a air conditioner, and moreparticularly to an indoor grille for an air conditioner and a method formounting such grille.

BACKGROUND ART

Room type air conditioners typically have an indoor section and anoutdoor section. The indoor section is responsible for cooling anddehumidifying the indoor room air while the outdoor section isresponsible for exhausting heat into the outdoor environment. The indoorand outdoor sections each have a heat exchanger coil and a fan, and eachhas a return air opening and a discharge opening. A grille structure isnormally installed over each section to prevent the entry of foreignobjects, while allowing the free flow of air to and from the sections,as well as for aesthetic considerations. Typically, screws, clip orsimilar fasteners are used to attach the grille to the housing for theindoor section. However, such construction which requires separatefastener parts makes construction of the unit somewhat more difficultand requires undesirable process steps and additional parts inventory.Additional parts also add cost and time to repair or maintenanceprocedures and necessitate additional supply and inventory accounting.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,607,500 entitled "Grille Mounting For A Room AirConditioner" describes an improved grille arrangement for an airconditioner window unit. In the '500 patent, a one piece molded plasticgrille is shown and described with recesses on the grille that engageflanges on the main air conditioner housing to permit the grille to beinstalled without separate fasteners. The grille may also readily beremoved without use of a tool or the like. U.S. Pat. No. 5,315,842entitled "Grille Mount For A Room Air Conditioner" discloses a unitarymolded grille cover for the indoor side of a window type airconditioner. The grille cover is installed without tools or fasteners. Atransverse flange on the grille cover top wall is positioned into agroove or slot on a discharge deck of the air conditioner, and thegrille cover is snapped into place with the bottom wall thereofextending beneath the base pan of the unit. Bosses on the base panproject into corresponding holes in the grille cover bottom wall toretain the grille cover in place.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

A grille for the evaporator section of an air conditioning system, whichextends into a room to be cooled and has an air intake and an airdischarge opening. Structure for attaching the grille to the indoorsection includes a substantially planar element having vents formedtherein for conducting the flow of air to the air intake opening andfrom the air discharge opening. A skirt element is attached to andextends rearwardly from the edges of the front element on at least twoopposite sides thereof to extend in confronting relation to at least twosides of the indoor section. Each of the two skirt elements has at leastone transversely extending raised portion formed therein. One of said atleast two opposite sides of the indoor section have a transverselyextending recess formed therein at a position corresponding to theraised section on one of the skirt elements when the grille structure isin place. The other of the at least two sides of the indoor section hasa flexible latch structure therein at a position corresponding to theraised section on the other of the skirt elements when the grillestructure is in place. The raised elements are engageable in therecesses when the flexible element flexes to engages it correspondingraised section to thereby maintain the skirt elements and the attachedfront section in its installed position. The flexible latch element isinside the skirt section and must be released by a tool element passingthrough the wall to remove the grille.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention may be better understood and its objects and advantageswill become apparent to those skilled in the art by reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a room air conditioner which embodiesthe features of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the air conditioner of FIG. 1 removedfrom the base pan and showing the separate indoor and outdoor modules;

FIG. 3 is a top elevational view of the air conditioner of FIG. 1 withthe cover of the outdoor module removed and the top of the indoor modulepartially broken away;

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of the air conditioner of FIG. 1 withthe front grille removed;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the indoor module with portions thereofbroken away to show internal components thereof;

FIG. 6 is a left side view of the air conditioner as shown in FIG. 4with some components shown in section and others broken away in order toshow internal components thereof;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of the area in FIG. 6 identified as FIG. 7;

FIG. 8 is an alternative embodiment of the fan and motor attachmentillustrated in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along the lines 9--9 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the air conditioner unit of FIG. 1 witha number of the internal component of the indoor module removed, and theoutdoor module top housing removed therefrom;

FIG. 11 is a front elevational view of the indoor module housing;

FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along the lines 12--12 of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken along the lines 13--13 of FIG. 11;

FIG. 14 is a sectional view taken along the lines 14--14 of FIG. 11;

FIG. 15 is a sectional view taken along the lines 15--15 of FIG. 11;

FIG. 16 is a simplified end view of the indoor fan motor and itsassociated mounting structure;

FIG. 17 is an enlarged partial view of the indoor fan motor mounting asshown in FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of the indoor fan scroll;

FIG. 19 is a front elevational view of the indoor fan scroll;

FIG. 20 is a sectional view taken along the lines 20--20 of FIG. 19;

FIG. 21 is a sectional view taken along the lines 21--21 of FIG. 19;

FIG. 22 is a back elevational view of the indoor fan scroll;

FIG. 23 is a sectional view taken along the lines 23--23 of FIG. 22;

FIG. 24 is a front elevational view of the scroll enclosure;

FIG. 25 is a sectional view taken along the lines 25--25 of FIG. 24;

FIG. 26 is a sectional view taken along the lines 26--26 of FIG. 24;

FIG. 27 is a rear elevational view of the indoor module front grille;

FIG. 28 is a sectional view taken along the lines 28--28 of FIG. 27;

FIG. 29 is a sectional view taken along the lines 29--29 of FIG. 28;

FIG. 30 is a sectional view taken along the lines 30--30 of FIG. 27;

FIG. 31 is a sectional view taken along the lines 31--31 of FIG. 30;

FIG. 32 is a simplified partial plan view of the indoor moduleillustrating the method of attachment of the indoor grille thereto;

FIG. 33 is a front elevational view of the indoor module front grillewith the snap-in filter assembly in place;

FIG. 34 is a sectional view taken along the line 34--34 of FIG. 33;

FIG. 35 is an enlarged view of the area in FIG. 34 identified as FIG.35;

FIG. 36 is a front plan view of the snap-in filter;

FIG. 37 is a top plan view of the filter shown in FIG. 36;

FIG. 38 is left side view of the filter shown in FIG. 36;

FIG. 39 is a simplified plan view of the right hand front corner of theindoor module showing the control box in a preliminary assembly positionon the evaporator housing;

FIG. 40 is a side sectional view of the control box prior to closing;

FIG. 41 is a sectional view of the two halves of the control box,partially assembled and open;

FIG. 42 is a rear perspective view of the back section of the controlbox;

FIG. 43 is a back view of a fully assembled control box;

FIG. 44 is a front view of a control knob;

FIG. 45 is a view taken along the lines 45--45 of FIG. 44;

FIG. 46 is a view taken along the lines 46--46 of FIG. 44;

FIG. 47 is a rear view of the control knob of FIG. 44;

FIG. 48 is an end view of a shaft to which the control knob is mounted;

FIG. 49 is a side view of the shaft of FIG. 48;

FIG. 50 is a right side view of the air conditioner of FIG. 1 with theside wall of the outdoor module broken away to show the internalcomponents thereof;

FIG. 51 is a perspective view of the upper and lower sections of theoutdoor module, unassembled and spaced from one another to show internalcomponents thereof;

FIG. 52 is a back view of the upper and lower sections of the outdoormodule housing;

FIG. 53 is a view of the outdoor module taken along the lines 53--53 ofFIG. 3;

FIG. 54 is a view of the outdoor module taken along the lines 54--54 ofFIG. 3 with some of the internal components thereof removed;

FIG. 55 is an enlarged plan view of the compressor mounting structureillustrated in FIG. 54;

FIG. 56 is a view taken along the lines 56--56 of FIG. 55;

FIG. 57 is a side view of the outdoor fan motor mounting clip;

FIG. 58 is a sectional view taken along the lines 58--58 of FIG. 57;

FIG. 59 is a top plan view of the motor mounting clip of FIG. 57;

FIG. 60 is an enlarged sectional view of the right hand latch of theclip of FIG. 57;

FIG. 61 is an enlarged view of the outdoor capacitor mountingarrangement as illustrated in FIG. 3;

FIG. 62 is a sectional view taken along the lines 62--62 of FIG. 61;

FIG. 63 is an enlarged perspective illustration showing the mountingarrangement of the outdoor capacitor;

FIG. 64 is a simplified perspective view of the mounting arrangement forthe room air conditioner of FIG. 1;

FIG. 65 is a schematic illustration of a typical installation of an airconditioner of the split system type according to the present invention;and

FIG. 66 is a front plan view of the indoor unit of FIG. 65.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION AND INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

With reference, initially, to FIG. 1, an air conditioning unit 10,according to the present invention, includes an indoor module 12 and anoutdoor module 14 integrally attached to one another and mounted in ametal base pan 16 for use as a room air conditioner ("RAC"). It will beappreciated as the description of the invention proceeds that the indoormodule 12 and the outdoor module 14 may be manufactured as independentmodules, with some minor modification, for use as a split system airconditioner as illustrated in FIGS. 65 and 66 and will be described inmore detail hereinbelow.

The RAC unit is adapted to be positioned in a rectangular opening in anexterior wall or on a window sill in a room where cooling is desired,with the indoor module 12 facing into the room as in conventional. Theindoor module 12 comprises an indoor refrigerant to air heat exchanger18 (hereinafter "evaporator coil") and an inside or evaporator fan 20.Air from the space to be conditioned by the system is drawn into theindoor module 12, by action of the evaporator fan 20, through inletlouvers 22 formed in an indoor grille 24 and is directed through theevaporator coil 18 where the air is cooled, before exiting from theindoor module 12 through an indoor conditioned air discharge assembly,generally 26.

The outdoor module 14 of the air conditioner unit is located outside ofthe space whose air is to be conditioned. The outdoor module contains,as best seen with reference to FIGS. 3, 10 and 50, an outdoorrefrigerant to air heat exchanger or coil 28 (hereinafter "condensercoil 28"), an outdoor fan 30, an outdoor fan motor 32 and a compressor34. In operation, ambient air enters the outdoor module 14 through anumber of louvered air inlets 36 located in the upper 38 and lower 40sections of the outdoor module housing. The air entering the outdoormodule then passes through the outdoor fan 30 into the interior of theoutdoor module from where it is forced through the condenser coil 28before exiting from the outdoor section 14 through discharge louvers 42in the back of the outdoor module.

FIG. 2 illustrates the indoor module 12 and the outdoor module 14separated from one another. With reference to this FIG. 2 and FIGS. 3through 26, construction of the indoor module will be described indetail. All of the components of the indoor module are assembled to theindoor housing 44, which is illustrated without any components assembledthereto in FIGS. 11, 12 and 13. The indoor housing is a one piececomponent molded from a polymer material, such as polypropylene. Thehousing 44 generally is a rectangular enclosure having a rear wall 46,top and bottom walls 48 and 50, respectively, and left and right handside walls 52 and 54, respectively. The housing is provided withnumerous integrally molded structural attachment points for the variouscomponents of the indoor module 12. Other integrally molded componentsserve as guide and support structure for other components. Each of thesestructures will be individually described as the structure, which itcooperates with for attachment or support, is described.

The first component to be assembled to the indoor housing 44 is theindoor fan scroll 56 illustrated standing alone in FIG. 18 and in detailin FIGS. 19 through 23. The fan scroll is illustrated as installed inthe indoor housing 44 in FIGS. 3, 4 and 6. The indoor fan scroll 56 is asingle piece preferably molded from an expanded polystyrene foam. Itincludes a lower body section 58 which has an open front and a closedback wall 60, which includes an opening 62 therein. The opening 62 isadapted to receive a cylindrical wall 64 which extends forwardly fromthe rear wall 46 of the indoor housing and which is provided at its freeend thereof with structure for supporting the motor 68 for theevaporator fan 20.

The scroll 56 is provided with a through opening 70 at its lower righthand corner which is adapted to receive an elongated hollow tube 72molded into the rear wall 46 of the indoor housing, as best seen inFIGS. 11 and 12. As will be appreciated, the tube 72 serves not only tolocate the scroll, but is also an important part of the condensatedisposal system of the air conditioner. A second positioning opening 74is provided in the upper rear wall 76 of the scroll. This opening 74 isa blind opening and is adapted to receive a positioning pin 78 moldedinto the rear wall 46 of the indoor housing as best seen in FIG. 13.Accordingly, the scroll 56 is assembled to the indoor housing 44 byaxially aligning the opening 60 in the back wall, the condensate draintube 72 and the positioning pin 78 with their above described matingstructure and simply sliding the scroll into its final position asillustrated in FIG. 6.

Additional scroll positioning surfaces, such as raised portions 80 onthe left hand side of the upper section 82 of the scroll and surface 84on the right hand side of the upper section, are adapted to engage fixedsurfaces of the indoor housing to further facilitate positioning andsupport. It will be appreciated that the upper section 82 of the scrollcommunicates with the lower part 58 in which the indoor fan is mountedand, as illustrated clearly in FIG. 4, clearly serves as the airdischarge plenum for conditioned air. With continued reference to FIG. 4and FIGS. 18 and 20, an intermediate wall section 86 serves to furtherdefine and separate the lower part of the scroll 58 from the upperdischarge section 82. This solid wall section contains an elongatedarcuate opening 88 therein. This opening is engaged by mating structureprovided on the back side of the upper end 92 of a scroll enclosureelement 90, which will be described in detail hereinbelow.

Following installation of the scroll 56, a subassembly of the evaporatorfan motor 68 and the evaporator fan 20 is assembled to the mountingstructure 66 carried by the indoor fan support extension 64. Lookingfirst at FIGS. 6 and 7, the indoor fan motor comprises a substantiallycylindrical electric motor having a drive shaft 94 extending from oneend thereof. The motor drive shaft has a flat 96 formed on one sidethereof and a shoulder 98 from which extends a reduced diameter threadedend portion 100.

The evaporator fan 20, as best seen in FIG. 6, is a centrifugal fanhaving a plurality of longitudinally extending blades 102 positionedabout the periphery thereof. The inlet of the fan is a large circularopening which is in air flow relationship with the evaporator coil 18.The back side of the fan is closed by a convex shaped partition 104,which defines a substantially cup-shaped space 106 in the back side ofthe fan. As best shown in FIG. 6, the partition 104 is defined by anumber of linear extending sections to define the cup-shaped space 106so that the space extends a substantial axial distance from the back 108of the fan towards the inlet end 110 of the fan.

An axially extending opening 112 is provided at the center line of thefan through the partition wall 104. The opening 112 has a flat 114formed thereon and is adapted to receive the motor drive shaft 94 andthe flat 96 formed thereon with the shoulder 98 on the motor drive shaftengaging a mating shoulder 116 in the fan mounting opening 112. Asillustrated in FIG. 7, the threaded extension 100 of the motor driveshaft 94 extends through the opening and receives a threaded nut 118thereupon to attach the motor drive shaft 94 to the fan 20.

As best seen in FIGS. 7, 8 and 9, a plurality of radially extendingre-enforcing webs 120 extend from the structure defining the fanmounting opening 112 to the partition wall 104. FIGS. 8 and 9 illustratean alternative embodiment to the fan/fan motor attachment. Referencenumber 122 is applied to a washer-like element, which has an opening 124therethrough, having a cross section to receive the motor drive shaft 94section with the flat 96 formed thereon. A leg 126 is provided on thewasher 122 which is sized to extend between two adjacent re-enforcingribs 120 as illustrated in FIG. 9. This arrangement assures a positivedriving arrangement between the motor drive shaft 94 and the evaporatorfan 20.

With continued reference to FIG. 6, it will be noted that as attached,the axial length and the width of the housing of the evaporator fanmotor 68 and the axial and radial dimensions of the cup-shaped space 106are such that when the motor is mounted to the evaporator fan asdescribed, a substantial portion of the axial length of the motorhousing is received within the cup-shaped space to thereby result in aminimal axial length of the subassembly of the evaporator motor 68 andthe evaporator fan 20. This is achieved by contouring the fan partition104 such that it defines the motor receiving cup-shaped space 106 whilenot substantially impairing the air flow of the centrifugal evaporatorfan from the inlet and outwardly through the fan blades 102. Asillustrated, more than seventy-five percent (75%) of the axial length ofthe housing of the evaporator fan motor 68 is received within thecup-shaped space 106.

Looking now at FIGS. 6, 11 through 14, 16 and 17, the mounting of theevaporator fan 20/evaporator fan motor 68 subassembly to the indoor fanmounting structure 66 previously described is illustrated. Looking,first, at FIG. 16, a simplified end view of the housing 68 of anevaporator fan motor is shown to include a peripherally extending flange128, which has four radially outwardly extending lugs 130 equally spacedthereabout. The flange 128 and the lugs 130 carried thereby are formedfrom a structural material and each of the lugs is provided with anouter cover or sleeve 132. The lug covers 132 are preferably made froman elastomeric material and are of substantial thickness relative to thethickness of the lug as illustrated in detail in FIG. 17. In a preferredembodiment, the lug covers 132 are made from a continuous formed rubbercomponent, a part of which is shown in FIG. 16. The formed rubbercomponent would be formed in a single piece, which may extend about theperiphery of the motor and engage each of the flanges 128.

With the elastomeric covers 132 in place, the housing of the evaporatorfan motor 68 is passed through the opening defined by the indoor fansupport extension 64 with the four lugs 130 in alignment with receivingopenings 134 formed in the mounting structure 66. The lugs 130 pass intothe openings 134 to engage a rear wall 136. At this point the motor fanassembly is rotated counter-clockwise such that the lugs 130 and thecovers thereon 132 are displaced under an outer wall 138 as best seen inFIG. 17. Continued rotation of the assembly results in the outer cover132 of the lugs 130 engaging a stop wall 140 as best shown in FIG. 14.The engagement of the lugs 130 and lug covers 132 with the structuredefined by the back wall 136, outer wall 138 and the stop walls 140results in positive operative retention of the evaporator motor in thedesired position without the need for any additional fasteners. Itshould be appreciated that the thickness of the elastomeric lug covers132 results in a sound and vibration isolating mounting for the motorsas well as serving as a part of the mounting structure.

Following assembly of the evaporator fan/motor subassembly to thehousing 44 a subassembly of the previously mentioned scroll enclosure 90and the evaporator coil 18 is assembled and installed to the indoorhousing 44. The scroll enclosure 90 is shown in detail in FIGS. 24through 26 and includes a substantially planar wall section 142 having alarge circular opening 144 formed therein. The opening 144, is defined,as best seen in FIG. 26, with a rearwardly extending annular wallportion 146, which is adapted to receive the front or inlet end 110 ofthe evaporator fan therein when installed to the housing 44 to therebydefine the inlet flow path from the evaporator coil 18 to the inlet ofthe fan.

The scroll is provided with rectangularly shaped forwardly extendingextensions 148 and 150 at the upper and lower ends thereof,respectively. The extensions 148 and 150 are provided with outerperimeter wall extensions 152 and 154 at the edges thereof, extendingupwardly and downwardly, respectively. With reference to FIG. 6, theseextensions and their associated perimeter wall sections are adapted toreceive and retain the evaporator coil therebetween. Specifically, thespacing between the upper extension 148 and the lower extension 150 andtheir associated walls 152 and 154, respectively, are such that thesesections must be flexed upwardly and downwardly respectively in order toreceive the evaporator coil in the installed position as illustrated inFIG. 6. With reference to FIGS. 4 and 24, the scroll enclosure 90includes a vertically extending left hand wall 156 and a verticallyextending right hand wall 158, which are adapted to engage the left andright hand ends 160 and 162 of the evaporator coil to further retain theevaporator coil within the scroll enclosure 90.

It should be understood that the subassembly of the scroll enclosure 90and the evaporator coil 18 has several refrigerant tubes and capillariesextending therefrom generally identified by reference numeral 164 inFIGS. 3, 4 and 5. The free end of these tubes are passed through anopening 166 provided in the rear wall 46 of the indoor housing 44.

Following passage of the tubes 164 through the opening 166, assembly ofthe scroll enclosure/evaporator coil assembly is accomplished byengaging the vertically extending right hand wall 158 of the scrollenclosure with a pair of L-shaped hooks 168. Following such engagement,the left hand side of the assembly is rotated toward the indoor housing44 such that an outside vertically extending wall 170 on the scrollenclosure is received by a pair of flexible latches 172 illustrated inFIGS. 4, 10 and 11 to thereby structurally retain the scroll enclosureand evaporator coil in its desired operative position.

As a back up or optional attachment arrangement, openings 174 areprovided in the indoor housing 44 adjacent each of the flexible latches172. These openings are adapted to be in axial alignment with a pair ofopenings 176 in the left hand wall 170 of the scroll enclosure 90 asillustrated in FIG. 24. Threaded fasteners 177, as illustrated in FIG.4, may be used in the event that the flexible plastic latches 172, forexample, become broken during servicing. An optional screw attachmentarrangement is provided on the right side of the scroll housing also.This is best seen with reference to FIGS. 5 and 11, where it is seenthat an extension 176 from the indoor housing 44 extends intoconfronting engagement with the right hand tube sheet 178 of theevaporator coil. A threaded fastener 180 is illustrated passing throughthe extension into an opening provided in the evaporator coil.

Turning now to FIGS. 39 through 43, the control box 182 which serves tohouse the units control switch 184, the thermostat 186 and theevaporator motor capacitor 188 is shown in detail. As will beappreciated, the control box 182 is made up from two molded plasticcomponents, which are adapted to snap together and snap-fit into theupper right hand corner of the indoor housing 44.

The front section 190 of the control box includes a substantially planarfront wall 192, which is provided with a pair of through openings forreceiving the control shafts of the control switch 184 and thethermostat 186 therethrough. The switch 184 and the thermostat 186 areattached to suitable molded plastic mounting structure on the inside 196of the front wall 192.

Extending rearwardly from the front wall 192 is a top wall 198, a bottomwall 200, a left side wall 202, and a right side 204, which cooperate todefine a rearwardly facing skirt element on the front section 190. Thetop wall 198 is provided with a pair of forwardly facing hook-shapedelements 206. The bottom wall 200 is provided with a ramp-like recesstherein 208 having a laterally extending protrusion 208 extendingthereacross. The recess 208 tapers from the back edge 210 of the bottomwall outwardly to define a forward facing retaining surface 212.

The back section 214 of the control box also includes a substantiallyplanar back wall 216 a top wall 218, a bottom wall 220, and left andright side walls 222 and 224, respectively, to define a forwardly facingskirt element. The forward edge of the top wall 218 is provided a pairof free standing laterally extending substantially cylindrical elements226 adapted to operatively pivotally engage the hooks 206 provided onthe front section 190. The transversely extending elements 226 are eachsupported by a pair of parallel support elements 228 integrally moldedinto the top 218 of the back section 214, as best shown in FIG. 42. Asbest shown in FIGS. 40 and 41, the bottom wall 220 of the back sectionis provided with a rearwardly extending flexible latching mechanism 230.The latch includes a transversely extending section 232 which defines arearwardly facing surface 234 adapted to engage the forward facingsurface 212 carried by the bottom wall of the front section 190.

With reference now to FIGS. 40 and 41, a cylindrical plastic evaporatorfan motor capacitor 236 is snap mounted by engagement with the inside ofthe top wall and a flexible latch 238 within the interior of the backsection 214. While not all of the interior connections are shown, itshould be appreciated that a number of individual electrical wiresgenerally, 240, and an electrical service supply line 242 must extendinto the interior of the control box 182. With reference to FIGS. 42 and43, a single horizontally extending opening 244 is provided in the backwall 216 of the back section 214 for all of the wires 240 and 242 topass. The opening 244 includes a narrow elongated section 246 in which aplurality of the smaller wires 240 may be sequentially arranged andsupported. An enlarged section 248 is provided at one end of the opening244 to receive the service power cord 242.

It will be noted that both ends of most of the wires 240 are providedwith quick disconnect type couplings 250. Assembly of these wires to thecontrol box and passing them through the opening 244 is facilitated bythe above-described arrangement. Specifically, the individual wires arefirst passed through the enlarged section 248 of the opening 244 andthen pulled down into the narrow section 246. Following installation ofall of the smaller wires 240, the large electrical service line 242 ispassed through the enlarged section 248 of the opening. The service line242, as is conventional, contains three separate wires, each of whichbears the reference numeral 252. It will be noted with reference to FIG.40 and 42 that only one of the wires 252 is connected to the controlswitch within the housing. The other two wires 252 of the service cordmake a reverse turn as indicated at 254 and pass out through a topsection 256 of the enlarged section 248 above the service cord to alocation where the quick disconnect couplings 250 carried thereby areattached to the appropriate wires of the air conditioning unit 10.

With all of the wiring thus installed, the front section 190 of thecontrol box 182 is easily attached to the rear section 214 by engagingthe two hooks 206 carried by the front section with the matingtransverse elements 226 carried by the rear section as indicated in FIG.40. As thus engaged, the front section 190 is pivoted downwardly andrearwardly to engage the forwardly facing surface 212 carried by theramp 208 with the rearwardly facing section 234 carried by thetransverse section 232 of the flexible latch 230 formed in the bottomwall of the back section 214.

Looking now at FIGS. 42 and 43, strain relief structure for the powerservice cord 242 is molded directly into the back wall 216 of the backsection 214 of the control box 182. This structure comprises a narrowopen passage 258 located above the opening 244 which is defined by alower wall section 260 and an upper wall section 262. Located below theopening 244 and spaced from the opening on opposite sides thereof are apair of hook-like structures 264 and 266 on the left hand side and theright hand side, respectively, as viewed in FIGS. 42 and 43. The lefthand hook 264 defines a power cord receiving space, which is open endedon its right hand side, while the right hand hook 266 defines a powercord receiving space, which is open ended on its left hand side. Each ofthe power cord receiving spaces defined by the hooks 264 and 266 have aheight just slightly greater than the thickness of the power cord 242.Each hook 264 and 266 is provided with a downwardly extending projection268 at its outer end. In a similar manner, the inside of the upper wall262 is provided with a pair of spaced downwardly extending power cordengaging extensions 270.

FIG. 43 illustrates the torturous path which the power cord passes inengaging the strain relief structure. Specifically, as the power cordexits the enlarged section 248 of the opening 244, it makes a reverseturn 272 and passes under the space in the right hand hook 266. It thenundergoes a ninety degree angle change in orientation and passes throughthe narrow passage 258 defined by the walls 260 and 262. Passing fromthe passage 258, it undergoes another ninety degree angle change inorientation where it passes through the space defined by the left handhook 264. It should be evident from the drawing figures how theprojections 268 on the hooks 264 and 265, and the projections 270 on theupper wall 262 serve to retain the power cord within their respectivespaces. As thus installed, when the power service cord 242 is subjectedto the Underwriter's Laboratories® Pull Test, there is sufficientresistance between the cord and the tortuous path defined above to passthe requirements of this test.

With continued reference to FIGS. 39 through 43, the right side wall 204of the front section 190 of the control box 182 includes a lateralextension 272 thereof, which defines an upwardly facing surface 274 anda downwardly facing surface 276. Extending from the downwardly extendingsurface 276 is a substantially vertically extending integrally moldedpin 278. A second pin 280 in axial alignment with the pin 278 is mountedon the upwardly facing surface 274. The pin 280 is mounted to a flexiblearm 282, which is attached near the front of the surface 274 and whichextends upwardly and rearwardly to support the upper pin 280 at aposition spaced from the surface 274 as indicated by the space 284. Thisstructure allows the flexible arm 282 and the pin 280 carried on theupper side thereof to be flexed downwardly from its normal position asillustrated in the drawing figures. The left hand side wall 202 of thefront section 190 is provided with a rearwardly extending flexible latch286, which has a vertically extending forwardly facing latching surface288 formed thereon. The latch is deflectable by depressing it to theright thereof.

The control box 182 as thus assembled is attached directly to matingstructure provided in the upper right hand corner of the indoor housing44 as illustrated in FIG. 10. This mating structure is illustrated inFIGS. 10 through 13 and includes a pair of forwardly facing mountingarms 290 integrally molded with the indoor housing 44 in the upper righthand corner thereof. The arms are vertically spaced from one another andare provided with openings 292 in their outer ends, which are adapted toengage the pins 278 and 280 on the control box.

Accordingly, installation of the control box is achieved by engagingdownwardly extending pin 278 with the opening 292 in the lower mountingarm 290. The flexible arm 282, which carries the upper pin 280 isdeflected downwardly to thereby allow the upper pin 280 to engage theopening 292 in the upper control box mounting arm 290. The box as thusassembled is illustrated in FIG. 39. Assembly of the control box to theindoor housing 44 is then achieved by pivoting the control box towardsthe housing without its pivotal mounting until the latch 286 and theforwardly facing surface 288 snap into a vertically extending latchingsurface 294 provided in the indoor housing 44 as shown in FIG. 11.Control knobs 296 are assembled to the shafts 298 of the control switch184 and the thermostat 186 to complete the control box assembly. Thecontrol knobs are uniquely adapted to be assembled to the control shaftsas a single piece component without any additional internal structurewhile maintaining a positive operational attachment to the shafts aswill be described in detail hereinbelow.

The front grille 24 of the indoor module 12 is provided with an indoorair filter unit 348, which is illustrated in FIGS. 36 through 38. Theindoor grille 24 and its installation to the indoor housing 44 willfirst be described followed by a detailed description of the filter unit348 and its installation in the front grille. With reference now toFIGS. 27 through 31, the front grille 24 includes a substantially planarfront section 302 which includes inlet louvers 22 and an opening 304 inwhich the indoor air discharge assembly 26 is mounted. The front section302 also includes a substantially rectangular opening 306 which isadapted to receive the control box assembly 182 therein when the grille24 is mounted to the air conditioning unit.

Extending from the planar front 302 are a top wall 308, a bottom wall310 and left and right hand side walls 312 and 314, respectively. Thetop, bottom, left and right walls cooperate to define a shirt elementintegrally formed and extending rearwardly from the planar front 302 ofthe grille 24. It should be understood that FIG. 27 illustrates the backof the inlet grille 24. The references to left and right hand sides arebased on viewing the air conditioning unit and grille 24 from the frontas illustrated in FIG. 1 and, accordingly, references to left and rightare reversed with respect to FIGS. 27 through 31.

Looking now at FIG. 28, the inside wall 316 of the right wall of thegrille 24 is shown. Integrally formed in this wall is a pair oftransverse extending raised formations 318, each defining a forwardlyfacing planar surface 320.

With reference to FIGS. 30 and 31, the inside wall 32 of the left handwall 312 is provided with a transversely extending latch engagingstructure 324. The latching structure 324 defines a forwardly facingplanar latching surface 328.

The front grille 24 is adapted to be mounted directly to matingstructures provided on the indoor housing 44. With reference to FIGS.10, 11 and 12, the right wall 54 of the indoor housing 44 is providedwith a pair of integrally molded spaced apart grille mounting extensions330. Each extension extends forwardly of the inside of the wall 54 andis provided with a longitudinally extending opening 332, which isadapted to receive the raised formations 318 on the right wall of thegrille such that the forwardly facing walls 320 are operatively engagedin planar confronting relationship with a mating surface in the recess332 in which it is received.

The latching structure 324 on the left wall 312 of the grille is adaptedto receive a latch mechanism 334 formed on the inside of the left handwall 52 of the indoor housing 44. The latch mechanism 334 is bestillustrated in FIGS. 11, 12 and 15. The latch 334 includes a flexiblearm 336 integrally formed with the housing 44. The arm 336 extends froma fixed portion 338 and extends outwardly to a outer end 340, whichincludes a rearwardly facing latching surface 340. The latching surface340 is adapted to engage the forwardly facing latching surface 328formed on the left side wall of the grille 24 when the grille isattached thereto. The latch includes an inclined surface 342 which isadapted to facilitate engagement of the grille 24 with the housing 44 todeflect the latch as the grille and housing are moving into operativeengagement.

Installation of the indoor grille 24 to the housing 44 is accomplishedby orienting the indoor grille as illustrated in FIG. 32. As shown, thetwo raised formations 38 on the right hand wall of the grille have beenoperatively engaged with the mating openings 332 and the mountingextensions 330. This engagement provides a pivot point which fixes theright hand side of the grille and allows pivotable motion thereabout tomove the left hand side towards the indoor housing 44. Continuedmovement of the left hand side of the grille towards the housing resultsin engagement of the inclined surface 342 with the latching structure324 which then results in inward deflection of the flexible arm untilthe grille is moved rearward into its desired installed position wherethe end 338 of the latch 334 moves into positive engagement with theforwardly facing wall 328 to thereby positively attach the front grille24 to the housing 44.

With reference to FIG. 15, removal of the grille from the housing isaccomplished by inserting a small tool (not shown) through an opening344 which is provided in the left side wall 52 of the housing 44adjacent the flexible arm 336. Force exerted on the tool results in theflexible arm deflecting inwardly thereby releasing the latch mechanism334. In order to prevent breakage of the flexible latch arm, an integralstop surface 346 is integrally molded into the housing 44 behind thelatch. The flexible arm 336 engages the stop surface 346 prior toreaching its breaking point thereby protecting it from inadvertentbreakage during the removal of the grille.

With reference now to FIGS. 33 through 38, a filter assembly 348 isprovided to filter the indoor air passing through the inlet openings 22in the indoor grille 24 before it passes to the evaporator coil 18. Thefilter includes a substantially rectangular frame 350, which defines acurved grid-like section 352. The top of the filter frame 350 defines ahorizontally extending forwardly facing wall 354 which has a pair ofmanually releasable snap fit latch confirmations 356 provided atopposite ends thereof. The filter frame 350 is preferably made from anunfilled copolymer polypropylene. A filter screen material 358 overliesand is integrally attached to the sections forming the grids 352. Thisscreen is preferably a polypropylene material and is adapted to becleaned by vacuuming and/or washing so that it may be reused for thelifetime of the unit.

The filter 348 is adapted to be received in a horizontally extendingopening 360 provided in the front inlet grille 24 at the upper endthereof above the inlet louvers 22. As is best seen in FIG. 34, thefilter is adapted to be inserted into the slot 360 with the outwardlycurved side 362 facing the back of the unit 10. As the filter isinserted through the slot, the back side 362 slides directly against theevaporator coil 18 and the unit is guided laterally by side walls 364extending from the inside wall of the grille 24. The side walls areillustrated in FIG. 27. When fully inserted, the filter completelyoverlies the evaporator coil and the wall 354 covers the opening andforms a part of the front surface of the grille 24.

As installed, the latch mechanisms 356 engage mating structure providedon the lower edge of the horizontal slot 360 as will now be described.The latch mechanisms on the screen 356 each comprise an upwardly andforwardly extending flexible latch 366 integrally formed with the filterframe 350. Free ends 368 of the latches are adapted to be engaged insmall horizontally extending slots 370 formed in the lower wall 372 ofhorizontal slot 360. A semi-circular recess 374 formed in the filterwall 354 adjacent each of the latches 366 and a mating arcuate recess376 is provided in the wall 372 adjacent to the horizontal slots 370.

Accordingly, when the filter is installed to the air conditioner asdescribed above, the flexible latches 366 in the filter will bedeflected rearwardly such that the free ends 368 of the latches engagethe horizontal slots 370 in the lower wall 372 of the slot. Thispositively retains the filter in its operative position. When it isdesired to remove the filter for cleaning, the free ends 368 of thelatches are readily accessible as a result of the arcuate recesses 374and 376 therearound, to be manually depressed to release them from thehorizontal slot 360. At the same time, the arcuate recess 374 serves asa grip for manually removing the filter 348 from the slot. Withreference to FIG. 37, it should be noted that the top wall 354 of thefilter frame 350 is asymmetrical. This allows the top forward wall toconform with the front wall of the grille to cover the slot, which isdisplaced to the left hand side of the curved forward wall of the grille24.

As previously briefly described in connection with the description ofthe control box 182, the knobs 296 adapted for engagement on the shafts228 of the control switch 184 and 186 are molded as a single componentwithout requiring any additional inserts or clips or the like tofacilitate positive operative engagement with their associated shafts228. In the preferred embodiment, the control knobs 296 are molded froman ABS plastic material.

With reference to FIGS. 44 through 49, the knob is round and has a pairof planar sections 377, which are separated by a large outwardlyextending conformation 378 on the outer side thereof, which is adaptedto be grasped manually to rotate the knob. This conformation extendsfrom a larger dimension at one end 380 thereof, tapers to a smallerdimension at the mid-section 38 thereof, and then expands at the otherside thereof 384 back to the larger dimension. The conformationcomprises an outer wall 386 and a pair of arcuately shaped side wallswhich extend from the outer wall 386 to one of the planar section 377.

The back of the knob 296 is provided with a large recess 390, whichconforms substantially in shape to the outwardly extending conformation378 on the upper side of the knob. Specifically, the recess has a lowerwall 392, which is the opposite side of the outer wall 386 and curvedside walls 394, which are the inner walls of the curved side walls 388of the conformation 378. Centrally located with the recess 390 is ashaft receiving structure 396, which defines a D-shaped opening 398. Theshaft receiving structure 396 and the D-shaped opening therein 398 areseparated into two spaced apart sections by a vertically extending slot400. Each separate section of the shaft receiving structure isintegrally formed with the curved side wall 394 as represented byreference numeral 402.

With reference specifically to FIGS. 45, 46 and 47, it will be notedthat the D-shaped opening 398 is molded with a negative draft angle.This results in the cross sectional area of the opening at the outer end404 being smaller than the cross sectional area 406 at the lower endthereof. The size of the opening 404 at the upper end is such that thetapered end 408 of the shaft as illustrated in FIGS. 48 and 49 will bejust received therein.

The thickness of the curved walls 388/394 are formed such that when theshaft 228 is inserted at the upper end 404 of the D-shaped opening, andas the full dimension shaft section 410 is inserted therein, the twoseparate sections of the D-shaped opening and the arcuate wall section388/394 to which they are integrally attached at 402, will flexoutwardly. This results in an increase in the cross section of theopening 298, which thus allows full insertion of the shaft. As a result,once the knob has been installed on a shaft 288, the walls 388/394 andthe separate sections of the D-shaped openings will be attempting toreturn to their undeformed condition and, as a result, exert a firmengagement on the full dimension portion 410 of the shaft 228.

It will be noted that an upwardly extending stop 412 is molded into thelower wall 392 of the recess 390 to limit penetration of the shaft tothe desired position. It should be further appreciated that thethickness of the curved walls 388/394 and the thickness of the planarsections 377 to which these walls are attached is extremely important inallowing the desired flexibility described above. Selection of suchthicknesses is within the purview of one skilled in the art and willvary depending on the material used, the size of the shaft and othervariables.

The outdoor module 14, as briefly described in connection with FIG. 2,will now be described in detail. FIGS. 51 and 52 illustrate in moredetail the upper 38 and lower 40 sections of the outdoor module housing.Each of these sections is molded in a single part from a suitablestructural plastic material.

As illustrated in FIGS. 3, 10, 50 and 54 through 56, structure formounting of the compressor 34 is integrally molded directly into thelower wall 414 of the lower part 40 of the outdoor housing. Thecompressor 34 has a triangular mounting plate 416 attached thereto. Themounting plate 416 has openings at each of the three corners thereof tofacilitate attachment to the lower wall 414 through the mountingstructure of the invention. Three substantially identical mountingstructures 420 are provided, one associated with each of the openings inthe plate. Only one of these will be described in detail. However, itshould be understood that according to an important aspect of theinvention, the orientation of each of the mounting structures withrespect to the other two is critical with respect to the invention. Eachmounting structure 420 comprises a raised elliptically shaped portion422 in which is molded a vertically extending compressor mounting stud424. Associated with each stud 424 is a vertically extending arcuatelyshaped projection 426. The arcuate projections 426 are oriented at alocation spaced from their associated stud 424 in a direction towardsthe two adjacent studs and each encompass an angle at least as large asthe angle defined by a pair of lines 428 drawn between the associatedstud 424 and its two adjacent studs. The height of the arcuate sections426 is less than that of the studs 424.

Mounting of the compressor and mounting plate is accomplished by firstassembling elastomeric isolator bushings 430 to each of the threeopenings 418 provided in the compressor mounting plate 416 asillustrated in FIG. 56. The mounting plate 416, with the compressormounted thereupon, is then set in place with the three integrally formedstuds 424 extending through axially aligned openings 432 provided ineach of the elastomeric bushings 430. The diameter of the elastomericbushings is such that when the studs 424 are received therein, the outercircumference 434 of each bushing is in close contact with the innersurface of the arcuate wall 426 associated with the stud to which thebushing has been engaged.

A single "fender" washer 436 is then placed over each of the bushingswith its central opening in alignment with an opening 438 which has beenmolded integrally into each of the studs 424. A simple sheet metal screw440 is then threaded directly into the opening 438 in the stud andtightened to a predetermined torque to avoid stripping of the threadsformed within the openings as the screw is attached thereto.

The compressor is thus mounted through the mounting plate 416 to theintegrally formed studs 424 in a manner such that movement of thecompressor in any direction is absorbed by or reacted through theelastomeric bushing. Specifically, in the radial direction, forces arereacted through the bushings 430 directly to the arcuate walls 426associated with each stud to thereby substantially reduce lateral forceson the upstanding studs 424.

In a specific embodiment, each of the arcuate walls encompasses an arcof 106°. It should be appreciated that as such, radial movement of thecompressor in any direction will then be absorbed and reacted by one ormore of the elastomeric bushing/arcuate wall combinations.

As best shown in FIGS. 3, 51, 53 and 54, the outdoor fan motor 32 ismounted to a pedestal type mounting structure 440, which is integrallymolded into the lower wall 414 of the lower section 40 of the outdoorhousing. The motor support comprises a first pair of substantiallyvertically extending spaced legs 442 directly formed at their lower end444 with the lower wall 414. At the upper ends 446 thereof, the verticallegs 442 make a transition through a horizontally extending section 448to a second pair of vertically extending legs 450, which are orientedsubstantially perpendicular to the first pair of legs 442.

The upper ends 452 of each of the legs 450 are spaced from one another adistance substantially equal to the axial length of the outdoor fanmotor 32. As best seen in FIGS. 51 and 54, the upper end 452 of each ofthe legs 450 defines an upwardly extending surface, which is providedwith a centrally positioned semicircular shaped support recess 454adapted to receive mating mounting bushings 456 on the opposite axialends of the motor. Spaced outboard of and on opposite sides of the motorreceiving recess 454 are openings 458. As seen in FIG. 54, the moldedmotor mount has a thickness such that the openings communicate with thehollow interior and define a horizontal downwardly facing latchingsurface 460 associated with each of the openings 458.

Mounting of the outdoor fan motor 32 with the fan 30 assembled theretois accomplished by positioning the bushings 456 at the axial oppositeends of the motor into the receiving structure 454 in the upper ends 452of the legs 450. Following this, motor mounting clips 462, illustratedin detail in FIGS. 57 through 60 are assembled to the motor mount 440 tosecure the motor thereto in its final operative position.

Each of the motor mounting clips 462 is formed as a single piece from aplastic material, preferably ABS 21. Each of these clips comprises ahorizontally extending central section 464, which has a semicircularshaped recess 466 formed therein adapted to engage the upper side of themotor bushings 456. Carried on the outer ends 468 on the horizontalsection 464 are a pair of downwardly extending flexible arms 468, eachof which carries a latching structure 470 at the end thereof. Thelatching structures each define an upwardly facing latching surface 472.The horizontal section 464 of the mounting clips 462 are also providedwith a second pair of openings 474 therethrough on opposite sides anddirectly adjacent to of the arcuately shaped motor engaging section 466.

The flexible arms 466 and the latching confirmations are positioned suchthat when the motor mounting clip is positioned over the upper ends ofone of the upper ends of the legs 452, with the motor engaging surface466 overlying the motor bushing 456, the clip may be installed to themotor mount by deflecting the two flexible arms 468 inwardly until thelatching confirmations 470 enter the openings 458. Once in place, andengaging the motor bushing, the latching arms may be released and theupwardly facing surfaces 472 will engage the downwardly facing surfaces460 adjacent the openings 458 to positively retain the motor mountingclip 462 and thus the motor fan assembly in its desired operativeposition.

In the event that the flexible arms should be broken in the future, dueto servicing or trauma to the air conditioning unit, attachment of themotor clips 462 to the upper ends 452 of the motor mount may be achievedby passing suitable threaded fasteners through the openings 474 in theclip and into suitable openings provided in the upper ends 452.

Also mounted in the lower housing 40 of the outdoor section is a largecylindrical metal encased capacitor 476 for both the compressor motorand the outdoor fan motor. With reference to FIGS. 3, 54 and 61 through63, it will be noted that the capacitor receiving support structure 478is molded integrally into the lower wall 414 of the lower outdoorhousing 40. The support is located directly adjacent to and moldeddirectly into the rear wall of the lower housing 40. Directly above thecapacitor support 48 and molded into the other side of the rear wall 480is a rectangular opening 482 and a forwardly extending wall section 484extending beyond the opening 482 on the lateral sides thereof to definea pair of vertically extending slots 486, one on each side of theopening between the front wall 480 and the wall extension 484.

The capacitor 476 has a plurality of electrical leads attached to theupper end thereof is thus adapted to be placed within capacitor support478 as illustrated in FIG. 63 and a capacitor cover 488 installedthereover. The capacitor cover 488 comprises a substantially cylindricalelement 490 having an inside diameter just slightly larger than theoutside diameter of the capacitor 476, which it is protecting. Extendingradially outwardly from the outer cylindrical surface 490 of thecapacitor cover are a pair of vertically extending L-shaped legs 492.The legs 492 extend beyond capacitor cover a distance to allow them tobe received in the vertically extending slots 486 described above. Thelegs 492 and the vertically extending slots 486 are sized such that thecapacitor support 478 and capacitor cover 488 may cooperate toaccommodate capacitors of varying heights while still providingprotection to the upper end and the terminals of the capacitor. Theengagement between the L-shaped legs 492 and the receiving spaces 486 issuch as to assure frictional retention of the cover 488 once it isinstalled.

Also radially extending from the cylindrical capacitor cover 490 is avertically extending surface 494 defining a vertical passageway from theupper interior of the capacitor cover to the open end 496 thereof. Asseen in FIG. 63, this allows passage of the multiple electrical leads498 from the capacitor to the various electrical components of the unit.

Also radially extending from the cylindrical capacitor cover 490 is arectangular extension 500 of sufficient thickness to have a threadedopening 502 formed therethrough which extends from an outer surface 504thereof to the interior of the cover. As seen in FIG. 63, the threadedopening is adapted to receive a grounding screw 506 therethrough, whichis attached to a grounding wire 508. The screw is adapted toelectrically contact the outer metallic cover of the capacitor 476 tothereby provide grounding thereof.

With reference now to FIGS. 3, 10, and 50 through 52, it will be notedthat also directly molded into the lower wall 414 of the lower outdoorhousing 40 is a structural wall 510. The wall 510 includes asemicircular opening 512 therethrough. The opening 512 cooperates with asimilar opening 514 formed in a downwardly extending structural wall 516molded integrally into the upper portion 38 of the outdoor housing todefine a shroud for the outdoor fan. Opposite sides of the opening 512in the lower wall 510 are defined by vertically extending structuralsections 518, each of which has an upwardly facing planar surface 520 atthe upper end thereof. The surfaces 520 have alignment pins 522extending upwardly therefrom, each of which is provided with an openingtherein.

As best seen in FIGS. 51 and 52, the upper housing 38 is provided with arectangular opening 524 in the top surface 526 thereof. This openingcommunicates with an arch-shaped space 528 above the wall forming theopening 514. At the lower end 530 of the opposite legs of thearch-shaped space 528, the housing 38 includes a pair of structuralattachment points, each having a cylindrical opening 532 therein adaptedto receive one of the pins 522 extending from the surface 520. Throughopenings 534 are provided in the attachment sections 530 to therebyfacilitate receiving of a threaded fastener 535 through the respectiveopenings 532 and into the openings in the pins 522 to therebystructurally attach the upper outdoor housing 38 to the lower housing 40when the air conditioning unit is assembled. Following such assembly, arectangular filler 536 is adapted to snap fit into the opening 524.

Looking back now at FIG. 3 and 51, the wall 510 in the lower sectionincludes a diagonally extending structural extension 538, whichterminates at a free end adjacent one end of the condenser coil 28.Carried at this end of the wall extension 538 are two verticallyextending wall sections, generally, 540, which define an open cornerwhich is adapted to receive and position one of the tube sheets 542 ofthe condenser coil 28. Likewise, the tube sheet 546 at the other end ofthe condenser coil is supported by a similar structure 548. In a likemanner, vertically extending support structure is provided for the backedge of both of the tube sheets 542 and 546. As a result, installationof the condenser coil 28 is a simple matter of vertically lowering thecondenser coil 28 into position using the above-described verticalsupport surfaces as a guide.

Corresponding similar structure is provided within the upper outdoorhousing 38 such that the upper housing may be installed to the lowerhousing as described above once the condenser coil has been positionedin the lower housing. Such assembly results in positive retention of thecondenser coil 28 in its desired location without the need for anymechanical fasteners.

It should be appreciated that as a result of the fact that the supportfor the outdoor fan motor 32 and outdoor fan assembly, and the wall 510,which defines the lower part of the fan shroud and which positions theupper part of the fan shroud, are integrally molded into the samecomponent that the clearance between the outdoor fan 30 and the shrouddefined by the openings 512 and 514 may have extremely close tolerances31 , which results in significant improvement in the overall operatingefficiency of the unit.

As previously indicated, the air conditioning unit 10 of the presentinvention may be used as a room air conditioner wherein the indoormodule 12 and the outdoor module 14, described in detail hereinabove,are integrally attached to one another and mounted in a metal base pan16. As will be appreciated, assembly of the indoor module to the outdoormodule is extremely simple. The sequence of assembly is to firstassemble the outdoor module 14 with the upper housing 38 removedtherefrom as illustrated in FIG. 10. With the upper cover 38 removed,the refrigeration tubes 164 and the appropriate electrical wiring 240from the control box may be passed through an opening 550 in the frontwall of the outdoor housing defined in part by a semicircular opening552 in both the upper and lower housings 38 and 40.

Attachment of the indoor and outdoor modules is achieved by aligning apair of structural hooks 553 molded into the front wall 480 of the lowerhousing 40 with mating openings 554 structurally molded into the rearwall 46 of the indoor housing 44. As best shown in FIGS. 2 and 51, thehooks 553 comprise a substantially vertically extending section 556 witha rearwardly extending inclined section 558. This arrangementfacilitates ease of assembly by allowing the indoor module 12, to bepositioned adjacent to and vertically above the outdoor module with theopenings 554 thereof, above and aligned with the hooks 553. Engagementof the hooks 553 and openings 554 is then achieved with a simpledownward force on the indoor module 12.

Following such assembly, the appropriate interconnections of therefrigerant tubing 164 and electrical wires 240 may be made. Followingthis, the upper section 38 of the outdoor housing is installed on theunit by vertically orienting it directly over the lower section 40 andlowering it downwardly into place with guidance being provided by therear wall 46 of the indoor housing 44. It will be appreciated that asthe upper housing 38 is lowered into place, the support structure 548carried thereby to support the upper portion of the condenser coil 28will engage the coil. Also, the above-described engagement of thealignment pins 522 and the openings 534 on opposite sides of the fanshroud move into engagement so that the threaded fasteners 535 may thenbe installed to complete attachment of the upper housing 38 to the lowerhousing 40. Suitable alignment structure, generally, 560 is provided onthe back side of both the upper and lower housings in the region of theoutdoor discharge louvers 42. This structure will not be described indetail and simply provides alignment of the flexible back wall portionof the unit when the housings are assembled to one another.

Following this, the rectangular filler 536 is snapped into therectangular opening 524 in the top 526 of the outdoor housing 38.Further interconnection is provided by a pair of threaded fastenerspassing through a pair of openings 564 in a lip 566, which extendsforwardly from the top 526 of the upper housing 38. The lip 566 overlapsa mating recess 568 in the top wall 48 of the indoor housing 44 andpasses through openings 570 provided therein to complete theinterconnection of the indoor and outdoor modules.

The assembly of the indoor and outdoor modules is then placed in themetal base pan 16 as best illustrated in FIGS. 1, 50 and 64. The basepan 16 is fabricated from structural sheet steel and comprises asubstantially planar lower section 572, which has a number of structuralchannels 574 formed therein. The base pan 16 has vertically upstandingleft and right side walls 576 and 578, respectively, and a rear wall 580formed about the periphery thereof. These walls extend vertically adistance sufficiently to positively engage the outside walls of the airconditioning unit 10 to support the unit without interfering with airflow through any of the louvers 36 and 42. At least the right hand sidewall 578 has a forwardly extending tab 582 having an openingtherethrough, which is in alignment with a mating opening 586 providedin the lower right side wall 54 of the indoor housing 44. As will beseen, this connection is simply a "safety" connection to preventmovement of the air conditioning unit 10 out of the base pan duringshipping and following installation, which will be described in detailbelow.

With the indoor and outdoor modules 12 and 14 assembled, the system ofthe air conditioning unit 10 for collecting condensate removed bypassage of humid air through the evaporator coil 18 and conducting thatcondensate to the back of the outdoor module 14 will be described.Looking back now at FIGS. 24 through 26, it will be appreciated that thelower extension 150 of the scroll enclosure 90, which serves to mountthe lower portion of the evaporator coil 20, also serves as thecondensate drain pan for the evaporator coil when the system is used asa room air conditioner. As seen in FIG. 5, a cylindrical outlet 588 isprovided at the bottom of the scroll enclosure 90 in fluid connectionwith the drain pan 150.

When the indoor section is assembled, the cylindrical outlet 588 isreceived in telescoping relationship with the outer end of the elongatedhollow tube 72, which is molded into the rear wall 46 of the indoorhousing as previously described and illustrated in connection with FIGS.11 and 12. With reference to FIG. 3, the condensate drain tube exitsfrom the rear wall 46 of the indoor housing 44 and communicates withreceiving structure 590 surrounding an opening 592 in the front wall 580of the lower outdoor housing 40, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. Anappropriate sealing compound may be applied around the telescopingjoints in order to assure fluid tight connections.

With continued reference to FIG. 3, the opening 592 communicates with acondensate flow channel 594 integrally formed into the lower wall 414 ofthe housing section 40. This channel is defined by pairs of verticallyextending substantially parallel walls 596 and 598 and extends generallyrearwardly to the wall 510. It then extends to the right and rearwardlyaround the end of the wall extension 538 to a channel 600 behind andextending parallel to the condenser coil 28. Water passing through thechannel 600 is preferably blown up onto the condenser coil 28 by theaction of the outdoor fan 30 to increase the efficiency of the system.Any condensate not evaporating as the result of such action willcontinue to the left hand end of the channel 60 and may exit from thelower housing 40 through a cylindrical exit 602.

It should be appreciated that the above described condensate removalsystem is designed to function simply and efficiently when the airconditioning unit 10 is used as a room air conditioner. The ability ofthe scroll enclosure 90 to function as a condensate drain collector whenthe air conditioning unit is used as a split system and the indoormodule 12 is mounted with its top and bottom reversed will be describedbelow.

A further feature of the metal base pan 16 is its ability to facilitateeasy mounting of the air conditioning unit 10 through an appropriaterectangular opening 604, such as an opening in a wall or a suitablysized window. With reference now to FIG. 64 and 50, the open front endof the base pan is provided with an integrally formed longitudinally anddownwardly extending alignment flange 606. Once an appropriate sizeopening 604 has been made, the assembly of the indoor module 12 and theoutdoor module 14 is removed from the metal base pan 16 by removal ofthe screw in the forwardly extending tab 582. The base pan 16 is thenpositioned in the opening 604 with the alignment flange 606 inengagement with the inside wall 608 surrounding the opening 604. A pairof diagonally extending support channels 610, which are provided withthe air conditioning unit 10, are then installed to the base pan 16 andto an inside surface 612 of the opening 604 to thereby precisely alignthe base pan 16 at the optimum position for support of the airconditioning unit 10.

With continued reference to FIG. 64, each of the diagonal channels 610is formed from a structural sheet steel and includes a longitudinallyextending section 614 having several reinforcing ribs 616 formedtherein. The outside ends of each of the channels 610 includes a lowerflange 618, which is bent inwardly to underlie and structurally supportthe base pan 16. The lower end of the longitudinal section 614 areprovided with openings therein 620, which are in axial alignment withmating openings 622 provided in the side wall 576 and 578 of the basepan 16. Appropriate threaded fasteners (not shown) pass through theopenings 620 and 622 to structurally attach the support 610 to the basepan 16.

The upper inside ends of the longitudinal section 614 of the channelsare provided with outwardly bent alignment tabs 624. The length of thediagonal support channels 610 is such that when supports are attached tothe base pan, as described above, and the alignment tabs 624 are inengagement with the inside wall 608, the base pan 16 is at the optimumorientation for installation and operation of the air conditioning unit10. Accordingly, once the alignment tabs are engaged with the wall 608appropriate fasteners, depending upon the material of the inside wall608, are installed through openings 626 provided in the portion of thelongitudinal section 614 of the channel which is in confronting relationwith the faces 612 of the side wall 604.

Following installation of the support structure, as illustrated in FIGS.64, the assembled air conditioning unit 10 may be readily slid into thebase pan 16 and the attaching screw reattached through the tab 582 tothereby retain the air conditioner in its operative position. The unitmay then be plugged in, turned on and the cooling and dehumidifyingeffects enjoyed.

As described previously, the module construction of the air conditioningunit 10 allows the indoor module 12 and the outdoor module 14 to beinstalled separately as a split system air conditioner. Such aninstallation in illustrated in FIGS. 65 and 66.

First, with respect to the outdoor section, it will be noted that nolouvers are provided in the side wall 630 of the lower housing 40. Inplace of the louvers, an opening 632 is provided, which provides accessfor refrigerant tubing and electrical wiring as generally represented atreference numeral 634. The tubes and electrical wiring are shown passingthrough an exterior wall 636 and communicating with the indoor module12, which is mounted on the interior wall 638 near the ceiling 640thereof.

It will be noted that the indoor module 12 in the split systemapplication is mounted in a top to bottom reversal from the way theindoor module 12 is on oriented in the room air conditioner application.Such installation allows the air discharge as indicated by the arrow 642through the indoor air discharge 26 to be at the lower end of thehousing as is conventional for split system air conditioners. Also, thecontrol knobs 296, being at the lower end, are more readily accessiblewith the high wall mount arrangement. It should be understood that theunit may be provided with a remote control arrangement for the controls,which may be installed in place of the control box 182 and which wouldbe actuateable by a remote control as is well known in the prior art.

All of the systems of the indoor module, as descried in detail above,are designed to be efficiently operational in the reversed orientation.

One function of the indoor module 12 in the split system application,which is different from the room air conditioning application, is thecondensate disposal system. With reference now, again, to FIGS. 24through 26, it will be recalled that the evaporator coil is supported insubstantially identical horizontally extending extensions 148 and 150 atthe upper and lower ends thereof. As described hereinabove, the lowerextension 150 serves as the condensate drain pan when the unit is usedas a room air conditioner. When the unit is used in a split systemapplication, the condensate drain pan 148 serves as the condensatecollector in a like manner. As shown in FIG. 25, an outlet 644communicates with the condensate drain pan 148. The outlet 644 isadapted to have a condensate drain tube (not shown) attached thereto,which passes through an opening 646 provided in the rear wall 46 of theindoor housing 44, as shown in FIG. 11. From this point, the condensatedrain tube may pass to an appropriate condensate disposal location as isconventional for such split system installations.

What is claimed is:
 1. A grille for the evaporator portion of an airconditioning system which extends into a room to be cooled and has anair intake and air discharge opening, an improved grille attachmentstructure for covering the air intake and discharge openings thereofcomprising:a front section having vents formed therein for conductingthe flow of air to the air intake opening and from the air dischargeopening; a skirt element attached to and extending rearwardly from theedges of said front section, on at least two opposite sides thereof toextend in confronting relation to at least two sides of the indoorsection, each of said at least two skirt elements having at least onetransversely extending raised portion formed therein, and one of said atleast two opposite sides thereof having a transversely extending recessformed therein at a position corresponding to said raised section on oneof said skirt elements when the grille structure is in place, and saidother of said at least two sides of the indoor section having a flexiblelatch structure therein at a position corresponding to the raisedsection on the other of said skirt elements when the grille structure isin place, said raised elements being engageable in said recesses andsaid flexible element flexing to engage its corresponding raised sectionto thereby maintain the skirt elements and attached front section in itsinstalled position.